Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

I love cream cheese frosting, and I love brown butter, so why not combine the two into an incredible frosting? Brown butter cream cheese frosting is the perfect balance between tangy cream cheese and the nutty flavor of brown butter. Believe me when I say this will be your new favorite frosting!

Use this delicious brown butter frosting anywhere you would normally use cream cheese frosting, such as on Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies, Banana Cupcakes, Cinnamon Rolls, or Pumpkin Bars. Personally, I really love it on top of Zucchini Cake!

Why This Recipe Works

• Best cream cheese frosting. Brown butter elevates regular cream cheese frosting into something elegant but indulgent, perfect for frosting a cake or cupcakes for a special occasion or just making Sunday morning cinnamon rolls extra delicious. 
• Easy frosting recipe. Browning the butter adds a layer of complex flavor, but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated! You can have this frosting made in 15 minutes or less.

Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted butter: The key ingredient to browned butter frosting! Using unsalted butter allows us to control the saltiness in the frosting. 
• Cream cheese: Another critical part of cream cheese frosting.
• Powdered sugar: Used to sweeten the frosting. Powdered sugar works better than white sugar because it doesn’t make the frosting grainy.
• Vanilla: To enhance the flavor of our frosting.
• Salt: Adding salt balances out the sweetness of the frosting and also enhances the toastiness of the browned butter.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Brown butter. Cut a ½ cup of unsalted butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and add them to a light-colored pan. Melt butter over medium-low or medium heat until it begins to foam and brown, stirring almost constantly. For a full guide on browning butter, check out my blog post. Once browned, transfer the butter to a heat-safe bowl and let it cool to room temperature. You can speed up this process by popping it in the fridge for an hour or so. You want it to be at the consistency of softened butter. While you wait for it to cool, set out 8 oz of cream cheese to soften to room temperature.
2. Mix butter and cream cheese. Once your browned butter has re-solidified, add it to a medium-sized bowl and beat it at medium speed or medium-high speed until smooth (the little brown bits tend to sink to the bottom). Add 8 oz of softened cream cheese to the bowl with the butter and mix until fluffy. You can use a hand mixer, or add your ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
3. Add remaining ingredients. To the cream cheese-butter mixture, add 3½ cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Beat ingredients together for another 2 minutes, or until fluffy. If you want your frosting to be stiffer, add another ½ cup of powdered sugar. If it is too stiff, you can add a tablespoon of milk to loosen it. 
4. Enjoy. Use the brown butter cream cheese frosting on your treat of choice. It makes enough to generously frost a 9×13 cake or 24 cupcakes.

Recipe Tips

Use full-fat cream cheese. If you use low-fat cream cheese, the frosting will be very loose and won’t hold up well. 

Watch your butter carefully. Once the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and start to turn golden brown, they can burn very quickly. You’ll know it’s beginning to brown when it begins to smell a bit nutty and toasty. 

For the best frosting, make sure you use room temperature ingredients. If you use your melted butter, it will make the frosting too runny, and if you use cold cream cheese, you may end up with lumps of cream cheese in your frosting. Using room temperature butter and room temperature cream cheese will give you the perfect consistency. 

You can add other flavorings to this frosting, but I find that vanilla is the best for complementing and not overwhelming the brown butter flavor. I do think a bit of maple syrup would be a really yummy addition, but you don’t want to add too much because it could make the frosting runny.

Keep this frosting in the fridge. Once you’ve used it, you’ll want to keep the frosted goods in the fridge as well, as the frosting will get soft and start to slide once it’s warm.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Make Ahead: This frosting will stay good in the fridge for up to a week, so you can make it several days ahead of when you plan to use it. 

Storing: Store brown butter cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Once used, keep the frosted goods in the fridge as well. The frosting will soften as it gets warm, and the high dairy content in the frosting means it will spoil if left at room temperature for too long. 

Freezing: This frosting can be frozen for up to 1 month. Store it in a freezer-safe container or a zip-top bag.

Recipe FAQs

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